I'm still trying to finish up the France posts, but it's hard because I didn't finish them before middle school track started and now I have less time and energy for extra blog posts. After this post, only one more France post to go! On Wednesday, February 19th, 2025, we went to Les Egouts et Le Centre Georges Pompidou. In case you can't tell: the title rhymes. It's pronounced "les eh-goo eh lu pomp-i-doo." Trust me.
Journal excerpt from Wed, Feb 19th:
At the beginning of this trip we were tired from jet lag, and now near the end of it we are tired from going, going, going for 10 days straight! But we only have one more day here in France, so I am determined to make the most of it! I seized the day this morning and went on a 6 mile run around Paris. I ran 2 miles to Sacre Couer, up the many steps, then swooped down through Paris back to the Seine and ran back to our Airbnb. It was a noisy city run with plenty of crosswalk stops, but it was fun to run on random roads through Paris. And I only needed to glance at the map twice, just to make sure I was on the most direct route more than to check where I was. I had to budget my energy!
We left the Airbnb as a family around 10am and rode the jerky curvy metro line 9 to the Paris Sewer Museum: Les Egouts de Paris. We have read about this small museum many times but this was our first time going. It was smelly and fascinating walking around a few sewer tubes and learning about how Paris handles its sewage and water treatment. I felt a kinship with Jean Valjean as we walked around. Jeff helped translate the explanatory placards for the kids and for me, since in my tired brain, my French was failing me. The Paris metro is UNDERNEATH the sewers. The water is all treated before flowing into the river Seine. There was even a short history of the bathing suit and famous swims in the Seine. It was a fascinating peek into public works and Paris history. We were there for about an hour.
After Les Egouts, we walked 2.5+ miles alllll the way back to the Latin Quarter in search for a touristy restaurant with soupe a l'oignion on the menu. I was so cold yesterday it made me crave onion soup with baguette. We found a restaurant...but it turned out to be not my favorite. It was fine. But I've had better, and my lunch barely had any protein so I was pretty ravenous by dinnertime.
After lunch, we walked the last mile back to our Airbnb for naptime. Jeff and I napped for an hour at 2:20pm. It felt so good. I need more sleep! Haha. Always. Once we had sufficiently woken up, we embarked on a nearby excursion to Le Centre de Pompidou, which is a 500 meter walk from our apartment. Jeff and I have always said we have no interest in a modern art museum, but it is closing for 5 years soon and it's part of our Paris Museum Pass, so we decided to check it out for a little while. We stayed for about an hour--clearly our museum stamina is shrinking as the trip wanes. At least a quarter of our time in the Pompidou Center was spent admiring the view from the tubes on the exterior of the building. The tubes were so cool! We rode escalators up, up, up 6 levels, gliding through clear plastic tubes and watching the city shrink below us.
The modern art was interesting... definitely not my favorite for the most part, but reading the explanation plaques by each artwork helped it all make more sense. The kids weren't too impressed though, so after a short perusal, we checked out the view from the top tube and then left.
It was time for dinner. I was too hungry and lactose intolerant for a baguette and cheese dinner, so Jeff and I got kebabs. Before we headed for a nearby kebab shop, Jeff gave Jay and Rose 30 euros in cash and launched them on a quest to buy 2 baguettes and five pastries for our family, then find their way back to our apartment. We didn't start at the apartment, but we we were in the vicinity. We parted ways (Amber came with Jeff and me) and met back at the apartment 30 minutes later. Jay and Rose said they had to check three patisseries before they found one that still had baguettes. They bought five croissants and two baguettes, and found their way back to our apartment like city savvy French speakers! Jeff and I were waiting for them when they got back. This was one of the challenges Jeff had dreamed up for Jay, to be conpleted for a grade in his French 1 class. Benefits of having your dad as your high school French teacher: when you miss 8 days of school for a family trip, you get harder assignments than the rest of the class! Jay aced his baguette and pastry procuring assignment, though he did admit to speaking as much French to the bakery lady as she spoke English to him. Go Jay!
Pictures from my morning run through Paris and up to Sacre Couer:
Since I wasn't glued to my map, I approached Sacre Couer from the side.
Sunrise!
Sunrise over Paris, with Sacre Couer behind me.
So many stairs. This was only the last set of them.
Wending my way down.
The streets and sidewalks I ran back on were too busy and narrow for photography, so I focused on dodging people and hopping curbs.
Les Egouts de Paris, the Paris Sewer Museum:
The tiny, nondescript entrance. Basically a shelter over the stairs down into the sewers.
We got to look down into actual sewer water flowing past our feet!
How did Jean Valjean do it? These sewers were creepy enough with electric lights.
This was a freaky thrill: walking over grating that had rushing sewer water underneath. It took some major faith!
These massive metal balls are used to dredge/clean the sewers or something... I'm fuzzy on the details. All I remember is the jokes we started making about the size and style of balls needed to clean the sewers. Massive iron balls only down there!
A little sewer cart.
I really wish I remembered more from this museum, but there was barely any English and my brain was so French-fried I was not comprehending the signs.
Tiny narrow stairs up to a pipe pathway.
Tunnels and tunnels.
The museum named each sewer pipeline. This was Avenue Bosquet.
Jeff translated/explained this water purification poster to us. Amber was suitably grossed out.
Family sewer selfie!
Swimsuit history!
Walking through Paris:
Le Centre Pompidou:
This picture was from our first day in Paris, but it was the only one I took of the exterior of the Pompidou Center.
Riding the escalator up the clear Pompidou tubes!
Up, up, up.
Picasso. There was a Picasso museum about a mile away, but we never made it there due to energy limits and narrow business hours.
This painting drew me in.
I found this deconstructed piano quite relatable: sometimes a rough practice session feels like this.
Weird fuzzy couch art: no sitting allowed.
The kids, trying to look enthusiastic before we left the modern art behind.
Going all the way up to the top tube was fun!
Sacre Couer on the distant horizon to the right.
The Eiffel Tower on the other distant horizon.
City cathedrals look so crowded and out of place and awesome!
Notre Dame, with her crane to the left: this was a new view of my old fave.
Eiffel Tower to the left, street trenches in the foreground.
Tube selfie!
Riding the escalator down towards the exit.
Ceiling of the main Pompidou Center lobby.
We loved this kebab shop so much. "Le meilleur kebab de Paris" about summed it up. The guys were super friendly and the kebabs were divine calories in my hungry empty cavern.
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